The booze-quittin' buddy thread!

[ColinJ]

I'm going to join this elite group of booze quitters as I would like to take my cycling and fitness to the next level, but the booze is holding me back. My story in a nutshell is that I like a drink at least 5 times a week due to a seriously stressful position as a business owner who is responsible for all making ends meet and making enough to pay staff at the end of the week. I've already decided to put the money I would have spent on drink into a jar each day and use it next year to have a family holiday. My guess is that I spend close to £50 per week on drinking at home so I could save £2600 over the year so I could use this money to better effect. Wish me luck!

Good luck!

It has certainly made a huge difference to my cycling. I still have a long way to go, but I already find myself getting to the top of small hills which used to bother me, and now I hardly notice that they are there.

Watch out with the cash in the jar though ... my sister was doing something similar and then got burgled. She had hundreds of pounds in a huge spirits bottle and the burglars lugged it off down an alleyway, smashed it there and made off with the money, despite much of it being coins!

 

[Irishrich]

Not much chance of being burgled here and the tin is well hidden. My frustration is that I'm already quite competitive in my club racing but I'm not fulfilling my potential because I'm drinking too much every night. The Giro in Ireland showed me how much dedication riders put in and what I could improve on so the drink is the first thing to do and good riddance!!

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

Anybody else still off the drink? .

Yep, still dry here. It's that fresh feeling you have you have in the morning that makes it all worth while for me. It's helping me to smash my 2013 mileage!

 

[martint235]

I'll be joining again once I've got my birthday celebrations out of the way.

 

[david k]

I've beaten the lot of you, I've quit beer at least a dozen times already this year, mainly on Sunday mornings

 

[brand]

I've beaten the lot of you, I've quit beer at least a dozen times already this year, mainly on Sunday mornings

. Nice one!
As I cycle mainly as means of transport and for pleasure. I won't be joining you as it will reduce my fitness. 6 often 12 miles to the pub is actually very good for fitness. Good luck but I won't be joining you.

 

[david k]

. Nice one!
As I cycle mainly as means of transport and for pleasure. I won't be joining you as it will reduce my fitness. 6 often 12 miles to the pub is actually very good for fitness. Good luck but I won't be joining you.

If you truely considered your fitness you would go the pub more often, therefore increasing mileage

 

[brand]

If you truely considered your fitness you would go the pub more often, therefore increasing mileage

Or better still drink more! I once cycled 42 miles home from a pub that was only 12 miles away. It wasn't even foggy!

 

[333]

I'll join this group, I've been enjoying a bottle of wine or beer(s) on too many friday evenings since xmas (stressful job, you know it) but taking my fitness seriously now, so count me in (even though I'm new, I'm not new to a couple of shandies!).

 

[Dogtrousers]

You have a drink once a week? And you feel the need to give up drinking to improve your fitness? No mate that's bollocks. Giving up a bottles of wine or the equivalent will do nothing for your fitness. Getting out on your bike will.

Bollocks is putting it a bit strongly. And, I'd go so far as to say, wrongly. In my humble opinion that is, even if it is the opinion of a holier-than-thou teetotaller.

Drinking all of one's weekly alcohol consumption in one go (otherwise known as binge drinking) is tucking away a whole load of calories, is often accompanied by other unhealthy behaviour (scarfing down enormous curries and the like) has long term health disbenefits and, while I can't speak for the OP, if he's doing it on a Friday evening, could potentially be interfering with getting out on the bike on a Saturday morning.

@333 you go for it. Don't listen to the siren voices luring you back to the bottle.

 

[Broughtonblue]

Going to rejoin this, did January but have slipped back into old ways, bottle of wine 3 or 4 times a week and beer! Weight pilling on as I still can't cycle because of undercarriage problems, so I'm going to do June and July. That's all the months beginning with J covered!

 

[brand]

Nothing else you can do to exercise? Eat less... Have you tried that 5:2 diet? Very good and very easy to stick to. Very healthy been doing it for 18 months made it permanent for the health benefits.
The bootlegger

 

[martint235]

Right I'm back on this. Last drink was on the 28th May so time to see how long I can keep it up for.

 

[Roscoe]

Well done to everyone still abstaining and good luck to everyone starting out again.

That's 22 weeks for me, lost 3.5kg since December and monthly mileage on the bike is now hitting 400. Loving it!

 

[youngoldbloke]

In reply to your deleted post Brand, I don't blame everything on beer, but it wasn't helpful. I do regret drinking too much of it for 40 years, and it certainly did have a negative affect on many aspects of my life. I'm not sure that the 'pleasure' gained was actually worth the tens, hundreds of thousands £ spent over the years either.